Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919). Through the Brazilian Wilderness. 1914.
Page 379
DAILY RATION FOR FIVE MEN
SUN.
MON.
TUES.
WED.
THUR.
FRI.
SAT.
Rice
16
16
16
Oatmeal
13
13
13
Bread
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Tea-biscuits
18
18
18
Gingersnaps
21
21
21
21
Dehydrated potatoes
11
11
11
11
11
11
Dehydrated onions
5
5
5
5
5
5
Erbswurst
8
8
8
Evaporated soups
6
6
6
Baked beans
25
25
Condensed milk
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
Bacon
44
44
44
44
44
44
44
Roast beef
56½
Braised beef
56
56
Corned beef
70
Ox tongue
78
Curry and chicken
71¾
Boned chicken
61
Fruits: evaporated berries
5
5
5
5
Figs
20
20
Dates
16
Sugar
32
32
32
32
32
32
32
Coffee
10½
10½
10½
10½
10½
10½
10½
Tea
5½
5½
5½
5½
5½
5½
5½
Salt
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
Sweet chocolate
16
EACH BOX ALSO CONTAINED
Muslin, one yard.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Matches, boxes
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Soap, one cake
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Above weights of food are net in avoirdupois ounces. Each complete ration with its tin container weighed nearly twenty-seven pounds. The five pounds over net weight of daily ration was taken up in tin necessary for protection of food. The weight of component parts of daily ration had to be governed to some extent by the size of the commercial package in which the food could be purchased on short notice. Austin, Nichols & Co., of New York, who supplied the food stores for my polar expedition, worked day and night to complete the packing of the rations on time.
The food cases described above were used on Colonel Roosevelt’s descent of the Rio da Dúvida and also by the party who journeyed down the Gy-Paran&á and Madeira Rivers. Leo Miller, the naturalist, who was a member of the last-named party, arrived in Manaos, Brazil, while I was there and, in answer to my question, told me that the food served admirably and was good, but that the native cooks had a habit of opening a number of cases at a time to satisfy their personal desire for special delicacies. Bacon was the article most sought for. Speaking critically, for a strenuous piece of work like the exploration of the Dúvida, the food was somewhat bulky.
